Legal glossary of terms
This section aims to give a brief description of some of the legal terms you are likely to come across when you apply to become an adopter or foster carer.
It is advisable to seek advice from a solicitor specialising in family and adoption matters. Those on low incomes may be able to get help with legal costs.
Click on the term for a fuller description
Adoption
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The child's natural parents lose their rights and responsibilities forever and cannot ask the matter to be reconsidered, even if their circumstances change.
There are various circumstances in which an adoption can take place. They are:
The main responsibilities are to take care of children separated from their birth families, recruiting adopters and foster carers and running residential children's homes.
Mostly adoption agencies in the UK are the social services departments of local councils. But there are also voluntary bodies and charities who are registered as adoption agencies such as Barnardo's, the Catholic Children's Society and Parents for Children.
When a child is permanently removed from their biological parents, but has not yet been placed for adoption, the adoption agency assumes parental responsibility for that child.
An adopted person has a right to apply to the Registrar General to obtain a copy of their birth certificate once they are 18.
If an adopted person applies to the Registrar General, they must be given the name of a registered relative and it must be the adopted person who makes the move to contact that relative.
Adoption Order - This is the contract obtained in the High Court or child's local county court or magistrates' court, which makes the adoption legal.
They will make recommendations on applications to free a child up for adoption, applications from people seeking to become foster carers or adopters and the kind of children they should adopt or foster, and applications to match up children to adoptive parents.
They can only make recommendations. The actual decisions lie with the adoption agency who can over-rule a panel's advice.
For more information on panels, click here.
You can object to these orders and ask the court to allow your children to remain with you or a relative.
You should get a solicitor to help you if you want to prevent a care order being made or you want to get your children back.
Social services must show that the children are likely to suffer "significant harm" if left in your care because the level of care you are giving is not very good or the child is beyond your control.
Since 1997, the courts have had new powers to remove an "abuser" of a child from the family home rather than allowing the social services to remove a child from the home.
If your children are already in care you may be able to get them out of care by applying to "discharge the care order" - but you must have good reasons.
If you want to apply to discharge a care order, you should obtain a Children Act Form C2 from your local magistrates' court, county court or the High Court. Depending on your financial circumstances, there may be a fee.
The court will do what is best for the children and not just what is best for you. You will need to see a solicitor to tell them what has changed since the children went into care. They will be able to advise you whether or not you should apply to discharge a care order.
You can only apply to discharge a care order if you have parental responsibility for the child.
If your children are in care and you want a court order to visit them, against the wishes of social services, you need a Children Act Form C15. You need to explain how often you would like to see the children and why. Depending on your financial circumstances, there may be a court fee.
Closed adoption - Adoptions where there is no contact between the child and their natural parents.
This is more likely to happen with younger children, who are not likely to retain memories of their birth parents.
It could also happen in cases where the child would be at risk from contact with their natural parents or in cases where the birth parents do not wish to keep in touch with the child.
They will often visit birth parents and speak to the children and then write a report for the court, in which they can make suggestions.
The judge does not have to take the Welfare Officer's advice and parents can argue against their report if they are unhappy about it.
Welfare officers are not there to take sides. It is best to co-operate with them but you don't have to agree with everything they say.
The judge can decide to speak to the children personally but most judges do not like to do this as the children often get upset and do not want to be disloyal to one of their parents. The judge may feel it is better for the Court Welfare Officer to find out their views.
A child's views will be taken into account if they are thought to be old enough to understand the court proceedings - usually at the age of 12 or over.
Freeing Order - This is a term for the unconditional agreement of the parent to that child's adoption. Once it is given it is final.
A mother cannot give such an agreement until 6 weeks after the birth of the child.
An application to free a child for adoption can be made even if there are no adopters available yet.
The adoption agency only needs the permission of one parent/guardian to apply for the freeing order and their consent may not be necessary if:
The court appoints an official known as a Reporting Officer if the parent of the child is likely to agree to the adoption.
The Reporting Officer makes sure the natural parents gave their consent freely and understand what is involved.
If it appears that a parent is unwilling to agree to the freeing order, a Guardian ad Litem rather than a Reporting Officer is appointed. Both may be appointed in cases where the child's two parents have different views.
Once a freeing order has been granted the child's natural parents can no longer contest the adoption (is there no appeal procedure) and parental responsibility for the child passes to the agency until the child is legally adopted.
It comes in two parts. The first part deals with factual information including what sort of children the applicant is seeking to adopt. The second part is a more subjective assessment and profile of the applicants, based on a series of visits by the social work to the applicants' home.
For more information on this, click here.
They differ from adoptive parents in that they do not have parental responsibility which remains with the birth parents or the local authority.
Fostering Panel - Similar to an adoption panel.
They investigate cases where a birth parent is unwilling to agree to a freeing order or adoption order.
They may speak to the children and find out what the children want. They will usually appoint a solicitor to act for the children, but the children can also instruct their own solicitor.
The Guardian ad Litem prepares a report for the court which only the judge is entitled to see. However the judge does have the discretion to allow other parties to see it.
In the case of inter-country adoptions, the Guardian ad Litem will investigate foreign documents, make enquiries to the foreign adoption agency and interview the birth parents abroad.
Home study - An assessment of your home and personal circumstances, carried out by a social worker as part of the adoption application procedure.
The social worker has to fill in an official form (Form F), draw up profiles of the applicants, follow up references and compile a report for the adoption panel to consider.
A child who is adopted outside the UK will not automatically become a British citizen, even if their adoptive parents are British. They will need to apply for citizenship.
But a child adopted in the UK will become a British citizen if either adoptive parent is a British citizen at the time the adoption order is made.
English courts recognise adoption orders made in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands, most Western European Countries, USA and Commonwealth countries.
When a foreign adoption order is recognised by UK courts, applicants do not need to apply for an adoption order in the UK.
If the foreign adoption order is not recognised, it is necessary to make a fresh application. A Guardian ad Litem will be appointed to investigate the case.
It is an offence to send a child who is a British subject abroad for the purposes of adoption unless the adoption is legitimate and the adopters are not living in the UK and intend to obtain a proper adoption order abroad.
Adoptive parents will also have to obtain official permission for the child to enter the UK.
When bringing a child into the country parents need to show that the child is under 18, unmarried, will be looked after and paid for by the applicants, was adopted legally in the child's country and the adoption took place because the birth parents could not care for the child and was not arranged to get the child into the UK.
Open adoption - Adoptions where there remains contact between the child and their natural parents.
This could be by phone calls, letters or face-to-face contact.
For instance you can choose their name, where they are to live, which school they go to, their religion, if any. You also have the right to consent or not to medical intervention for that child.
The form must be signed by both parents and the parents' signatures will need to be witnessed by an Officer of the Court or a Magistrate. The form then has to be sent to the Principal Registry of the High Court. It will not be an effective agreement until it has been sent to the court and registered there.
If you are or were married to your partner then you will already have PR. Stepfathers cannot apply for a Parental Responsibility Order, but will acquire PR if they are granted a Residence Order.
More than one person can have PR for a child.
Placement - The term given for when a child is accepted by and joins a foster or adoptive family or for when the child moves into a local authority home.
The other party will have to apply for a residence order which will automatically give them parental responsibility (PR).
It is also a way of a stepfather or other family relative, such as a grandparent, acquiring PR for a child.
The residence order decrees where the children should live and allows the holder of the order to take the children out of the country for up to one month at a time without their partner's consent.
Those holding a residence order, who want to take children to live abroad permanently, may need to seek permission from their partner or the court.
You can apply for a residence order by getting a Children Act Form C1 from your local magistrates' court, county court, or the High Court.
You will need to provide details of the children, yourself and your partner, and explain what order you wish to apply for and why. Depending on your financial circumstances, there may be a fee.
They will witness the parents' signature to an agreement, which allows an agency to put their child up for adoption.
The Reporting Officer must prepare a report for the court and tell the court if either parent is unwilling to agree to the freeing order.
Short-term Adoption Order - Courts can make a short-term order which gives parental responsibility to the applicants for a period of not more than two years in order to allow more time to decide if the applicants are suitable to adopt.
The court can attach conditions to short-term orders, such as allowing the natural parents to have contact with the child, or conditions about the child's religious upbringing.
This means that the High Court will have responsibility for that child and no orders can be made or action taken which affects the child, unless permission is obtained from the High Court first.
Since the introduction of the 1989 Children Act, wardship proceedings are only used in very rare circumstances.
Adoption agency
Adopted Children's Register
Adoption Contact Register
Adoption Order
Adoption Panel
Care Order
Child Assessment Order
Closed adoption
Court Welfare Officer
Education Supervision Order
Emergency Order
Family Assistance Order
Freeing Order
Form E
Form F
Foster Carer
Fostering Panel
Guardian ad Litem
Home study
Inter-country adoption
Legal guardian
Open adoption
Parental responsibility
Parental Responsibility Agreement
Parental Responsibility Order
Placement
Private adoptions
Protected Child
Residence Order
Reporting Officer
Secure Accommodation Order
Short-term Adoption Order
Specific Issue Order
Supervision Order
Ward of Court
Adoption - When you adopt a child you become the child's permanent legal parent. The process means that the adoptive parents have the same rights and responsibilities as if the child had been born to them.
Adoption agency - This is the term given to an organisation that has been licenced and approved by the Department of Health.
Adopted Children Register - Every adoption since 1975 must be registered in the Adopted Children Register.
Adoption Contact Register - Since 1984 there has been an obligation on the Registrar General of the Adopted Children Register to keep an Adoption Contact Register containing names of adopted people and their relatives.
Adoption Panel - This is a body of people who meet on a regular basis (usually about every four to eight weeks) to make recommendations relating to adoption.
Care Order - This is a court order that allows a local authority to remove a child from their parents and place them in social services care.
Child Assessment Order - This is where a court can order that a child be psychologically or educationally assessed, for no more than seven days, to see if they are suffering "significant harm" and should be placed in care.
Court Welfare Officer - A judge may appoint a court welfare officer to be the court's eyes and ears. They are usually members of the Probation Service and are attached to the Family Court Service.
Education Supervision Order If a court considers a child, who is not in care, is not being properly educated, it can apply for a court order putting the child under the supervision of a particular education authority. These orders are usually made for up to one year, but can be extended.
Emergency Order - When social services are worried about the safety of children, they can get an emergency order to remove them from their parents with the help of the police. They must then go back to court to get a care order.
Family Assistance Order - This is a step down from the Supervision Order and means that you may have a social worker occasionally keep in touch with you. The court can only make a family assistance order for a maximum of six months and only if parents give their consent.
Form E - This is the form that deals with the child put up for adoption and includes a profile of the child.
Form F - This is the official form that the adoption social worker will fill in when conducting the home study part of the adoption procedure.
Foster Carer - This is someone who takes care of children on behalf of a local authority or organisation responsible for a child who cannot live with their birth parents.
Guardian ad Litem - This is a person selected from a special panel who will have experience of dealing with and advising children. They may have a social service background or be ex-probation officers.
Inter-country adoption - This means an adoption where the applicants do not have the same nationality as the child or live in a different country from the child.
Legal guardian - A person appointed to look after a child's interests in the event of their parent's death. A guardian has parental responsibility.
Parental responsibility (PR) - PR gives you the right to be kept informed about and make decisions about a child's health, education and welfare.
Parental Responsibility Agreement - You may not need to go to court to acquire PR. If the child's mother/guardian agrees, fathers can enter into a Parental Responsibility Agreement which is a type of contract. A solicitor should be able to give you the form you will need and help you to complete it.
Parental Responsibility Order - Unmarried fathers of children who are not living with them may not have the right to make these important decisions about their children but can acquire this right by applying to the court for a Parental Responsibility Order.
Private adoptions - These are adoptions of a child known to those applying to adopt them for example step-parent adoptions
Protected Child - A protected child is a child who has not been placed for adoption by an agency but whose interests are protected in the adoption proceedings.
Residence Order - If an unmarried couple apply to adopt a child, only one of the parents can be granted the adoption order.
Reporting Officer - This is a social worker appointed by the court to check that the birth parents understand what adoption means and confirms their agreement to the adoption taking place.
Secure Accommodation Order - If a child is likely to suffer significant harm or is likely to injure themselves or has a history of running away or is likely to run away from where they are living, a local authority, education authority, health authority or children's home can apply for an order that allows the child to be kept in secure accommodation.
Specific Issue Order - These can be sought when parents of a child cannot decide on issues to do with the children, for example, what school they should go to, whether to change their surname, or whether or not they should have a major operation.
Supervision Order - These are a step down from care order and allow children to remain with their parents but under the supervision of social services for a while to make sure the children are well cared for.
Ward of Court - The High Court has powers to make certain orders regarding children where they have been removed, are in serious danger or at risk. The court will make the child "a ward".
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